For years, the continuation of Tom Brady's incomparable NFL career has been discussed in relation to just how long Brady's family will permit him to keep playing football. Earlier this offseason, it seemed that Brady's time in the NFL was up -- until the legendary NFL quarterback and seven-time Super Bowl champion announced that he would return for the 2022 season less than two months after announcing his retirement.
In an interview with Complex, Brady revealed how he told his wife and family that he wanted to come out of retirement and continue playing football. He noted that his wife Gisele Bunchden supported his decision.
"I decided to talk with my family and I said, 'I think I wanna do this one more time if you guys will support that.'" Brady said. "And my wife was so supportive of it and she said, 'Look, I want you to be happy. I want you to enjoy it and go out there and win.' Ultimately, that's why I came back, to win. There's only one reason to play for me at this point in my career. And that's to win."
After announcing his retirement on Feb. 1, Brady announced he was unretiring on March 13, days before the start of NFL free agency. While Brady admitted he would have preferred to have more time to mull over his future, he shared that his decision to unretire was prompted by the NFL calendar and out of respect to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
"Eventually, I had to make a decision just because they were getting into free agency," Brady said. "Would I have preferred to wait in the end to make sure I was really, really sure? Yeah. But that wasn't the way the NFL calendar works. So I spoke to (general manager Jason Licht) right before free agency. And I spoke to (former Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians). And they're like, as much as we'd love for you to give you time, we don't have time."
While Brady will now play at age 45 this season, there remains great ambiguity as to just how much longer he will continue his career. Although he stated he thinks he could play until 50, Brady cited the hefty commitment the NFL requires and how his children deserve his time and energy as they get older.
"I'm gonna enjoy this year," Brady said. "I don't know what's gonna happen beyond this year. We're not really promised anything."
Brady has remained an elite quarterback well into his 40s, and last year he led the NFL in passing yards (5,316) and passing touchdowns (43) to lead the Buccaneers to their first NFC South title since 2007.
